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Pay talks get off
to positive start
The Minister for Industrial Relations has set out a number of his intentions relating to negotiations on a new Public Service Enterprise Agreement.
In response to requests from the Public Service Association (PSA), the Minister, Russell Wortley said he favoured a single Enterprise Agreement across the Pubic Service with specific clauses for different groups of members.
He was not persuaded of the need for separate EAs.
Chief Industrial Officer with the PSA, Peter Christopher welcomed the Minister’s approach as “positive”.
| Minister sets out intentions |
“This reflects the position put by the PSA,” Mr Christopher said.
In his correspondence, Mr Wortley confirmed there would be a No Forced Redundancy policy for the term of the Government, acknowledging that security of employment was a key concern of the PSA.
“But from the beginning of 2014, a public sector employee who has been on the redeployment list for longer than 12 months (and after receiving formal help to find alternative employment for at least that period) would be able to be separated with an appropriate financial package,” Mr Wortley said.
The Minister also assured the PSA that the Government had no intention of introducing legislation that would diminish any of the conditions of employment negotiated under the Agreement.
He also confirmed that the Agreement should be enforceable and include a remedy for any breach.
“Again, this was one of the key framework principles the PSA put to the Minister,” Mr Christopher said.
Mr Wortley said the overall aim of the Government was to achieve an Enterprise Agreement that supported a productive, effective, adaptive and responsive workforce working in the public interest.
He said that negotiations on behalf of the Government would again be conducted by Public Service Workplace Relations (PWSR) in accordance with the requirements of the Fair Work Act 1994.
Copies of the correspondence between the union and the Minister have been posted on the PSA website at this PS News link.
Edition 151, 2 February 2012
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